Strategies for Advancing Equity in Frontline Clinical Assessment

Authors

• Chavon M Onumah
• Amber T Pincavage
• Cindy J Lai
• Diane L Levine
• Nadia J Ismail
• Irene Alexandraki
• Nora Y Osman

Language

English

Publication Date

8-1-2023

Journal

Academic Medicine

DOI

10.1097/ACM.0000000000005246

PMID

37071692

Abstract

Educational equity in medicine cannot be achieved without addressing assessment bias. Assessment bias in health professions education is prevalent and has extensive implications for learners and, ultimately, the health care system. Medical schools and educators desire to minimize assessment bias, but there is no current consensus on effective approaches. Frontline teaching faculty have the opportunity to mitigate bias in clinical assessment in real time. Based on their experiences as educators, the authors created a case study about a student to illustrate ways bias affects learner assessment. In this paper, the authors use their case study to provide faculty with evidence-based approaches to mitigate bias and promote equity in clinical assessment. They focus on 3 components of equity in assessment: contextual equity, intrinsic equity, and instrumental equity. To address contextual equity, or the environment in which learners are assessed, the authors recommend building a learning environment that promotes equity and psychological safety, understanding the learners' contexts, and undertaking implicit bias training. Intrinsic equity, centered on the tools and practices used during assessment, can be promoted by using competency-based, structured assessment methods and employing frequent, direct observation to assess multiple domains. Instrumental equity, focused on communication and how assessments are used, includes specific, actionable feedback to support growth and use of competency-based narrative descriptors in assessments. Using these strategies, frontline clinical faculty members can actively promote equity in assessment and support the growth of a diverse health care workforce.

Keywords

Humans, Learning, Students, Curriculum, Educational Measurement, Delivery of Health Care

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Onumah, Chavon M; Pincavage, Amber T; Lai, Cindy J; et al., "Strategies for Advancing Equity in Frontline Clinical Assessment" (2023). Faculty and Staff Publications. 13.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/huffington_pub/13